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Maker rounds out Marist men's staff with Michigan vet

Sean T. McMann, Poughkeepsie Journal 8:57 p.m. EDT July 16, 2014

C.J. Lee has been hired as Marist head men’s basketball coach Mike Maker’s third and final assistant. Lee, 28, played his first two collegiate seasons for the Manhattan Jaspers before transferring to Michigan, where he eventually became a co-captain.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

A month after being hired as the head coach of the Marist College men's basketball team, Maker announced Wednesday the hiring of C.J. Lee as his third and final assistant.

"C.J. is an ideal fit for our staff and Marist College," Maker said in a statement. "He comes from a wonderful family and is very bright."

Lee, 28, played his first two collegiate seasons for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's Manhattan Jaspers before transferring to Michigan, where he eventually became a co-captain and helped the Wolverines reach the NCAA tournament in 2009, their first Big Dance in a decade.

He spent the past four years on Michigan's staff under head coach John Beilein, most recently as the Wolverines' director of program personnel, the team's highest-ranking staffer outside of the coaching staff.

"He has a familiarity with the MAAC, having played two years at Manhattan," Maker said, "and has been tutored as a player and coach by coach Beilein for the last seven years. Clearly, he has the total package to make an immediate impact in our basketball program."

Last week, Maker announced the hiring of assistants Paul Lee, who held the same post under Marist's last two head coaches, Chuck Martin and Jeff Bower, and Andy Johnston. School officials said the Red Foxes will announce their director of operations at a later time.

C.J. Lee said he's "eager to get started in Poughkeepsie" and help make Marist a winner again.